This course is suitable for those who wish to pursue a sustained programme in drawing, painting (especially watercolour and other water-based media) and printmaking. Project based study will be integrated within a structured framework and can fulfil both fine art and illustration outcomes.

The course is intended to help you to develop your own personal imaginative direction, to acquire proficiency in your chosen media and to give you the skills and strategies necessary for the development of your ideas. You will also receive guidance in the practical and business aspects of the presentation and marketing of your work as fine artist or illustrator.

A foundation period of objective study will include workshop sessions which will introduce you to basic technical skills. This will be followed by theme based project work which will encourage you to replace and develop subject matter, making imaginative and creative connections through the related disciplines of drawing, painting and printmaking.

As you gain the experience and confidence necessary to pursue a personal direction you will be encouraged to take greater responsibility for the sourcing of your ideas. You may choose to work with a more specialised focus in your chosen media area and this will be reflected in the work selected for final assessment at the end of the second year.

Aspects of still life, the natural world and the human figure will all provide inspiration for course work enriched by lectures, museum and gallery visits. Workshop based sessions will be enhanced by practical demonstration of techniques and studio study broadened through group critique and discussion. Teaching is undertaken by a team of tutors who are qualified specialists in each of the three media disciplines.
Assessment

Regular tutorials arranged with your personal tutor will help you to monitor your progress throughout the course. Formal assessment takes place in an exhibition of your work at the end of each academic year. This presentation will be assessed by course directors at the end of the first year and the Diploma awarded after a satisfactory assessment of exhibited work at the end of the second year.

Course Times
This is a two year course of study which will take place three days each week on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10am–4pm. There are three terms of 12 weeks each academic year.

Studio Accommodation
Studios for painting and drawing are bright and well equipped. The printroom has two etching presses, a screen printing bed, a stone lithography press and an Albion press. Printmaking techniques available are intaglio (etching, aquatint, mezzotint, dry point, and engraving), stone lithography, relief printing (linocut, woodcut, collograph) and screen printing. Facilities are also available for photographic and digital imaging processes.

Admission Requirements
Applicants should be highly self motivated and are asked to bring a portfolio of recent work for interview. We would expect to see evidence of drawing ability and an awareness of contemporary art and design issues. Whilst completion of an art foundation course would be desirable, a sustained commitment to non vocational classes and courses would be regarded as acceptable experience.